First Data Global Leasing Review

Overall Rating

Category Breakdown

Overview

First Data Global Leasing (FDGL – firstdata.com/fdgl) is the credit card processing equipment leasing branch of First Data, one of the world’s largest direct credit card processors. The company sells its own First Data-branded credit card terminals as well as PIN pads, mobile swipers, carrying cases, chargers, paper and ink supplies, and payment gateway software.

FDGL sells its equipment leases through a vast network of independent sales offices and agents, most of whom use other business names and are free to set their own contract terms and pricing for the equipment. As a result, merchants who lease from First Data are often confused over which company is actually providing the equipment. These merchants should understand that First Data is ultimately supplying the leased equipment, and they will most likely need to deal with First Data rather than their merchant account provider for all leasing-related matters. Frank Bisignano is the CEO of First Data.

Key Points

Sales & Marketing: First Data Global Leasing allows independent sales representatives to sell its leases and has received hundreds of complaints about its sales practices.

Costs & Contract: First Data Global Leasing offers multi-year equipment leases that cannot be cancelled without paying out the full cost of the lease term.

Sales & Marketing

Key Points - Sales & Marketing

Employs Independent Resellers

Yes

Advertises Deceptive Rates

No

Discloses All Important Terms

No

FDGL sells its equipment both directly as part of First Data’s merchant services and indirectly through smaller third-party processors that agree to resell FDGL leases. In most cases, these resellers earn commissions in direct proportion to how expensive their lease terms are. This gives FDGL resellers an incentive to provide costly equipment with long-term, non-cancellable contracts.

There are currently hundreds of complaints filed by merchants who cite misrepresentation or nondisclosure by providers regarding the terms of their leases. In most cases, FDGL lease agreements are included as part of a provider’s standard merchant account contract, so merchants may not be aware at the time of signup that they are agreeing to separate lease terms through FDGL. These merchants are then surprised to find that they are being charged on a monthly basis for equipment that they cannot get rid of without paying massive cancellation fees. Alternatively, some merchants cancel their credit card processing through their providers but find that they are still trapped in the separate FDGL agreement for their equipment and must continue to make those payments.

As a general rule, merchants will save money by purchasing credit card processing equipment outright instead of leasing it. Most credit card terminals cost $200-$600, while most equipment leases cost $20-$40 per month. Therefore, a merchant will pay several times the cost of the equipment over the course of a four-year equipment lease. This pricing discrepancy alone is enough to reflect poorly on a leasing provider, but the issue is severely compounded by merchant reports of complete nondisclosure of the company’s long-term, expensive, non-cancellable lease agreement. FDGL therefore receives a “D” rating for its sales and marketing tactics.

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Costs & Contract

Key Points - Costs & Contract

Swiped Rate

Variable

Keyed-in Rate

Variable

Early Termination Fee

Liquidated Damages

PCI Compliance Fee

No

Equipment Lease Terms

Up to 60 Months

As noted above, the standard First Data Global Leasing contract (available below – see part II on page 31) is a 48-month, non-cancellable agreement that usually costs far more than the actual market price of the equipment. At the end of an FDGL equipment lease, the merchant does not become the owner of the equipment, but rather, may purchase the equipment for an additional cost that is calculated with respect to the length of the lease. In the event that a merchant wishes to cancel before the conclusion of the lease, the merchant will owe the entirety of the remaining monthly payments on the lease in the form of one lump sum (essentially a Liquidated Damages fee), which can often total thousands of dollars.

In addition to paying monthly fees for leased equipment and being locked into long-term agreements, merchants may find themselves paying smaller fees associated with their leases, such as sales tax or equipment insurance. First Data resellers usually have the option to set pricing and terms as they see fit, so the actual monthly costs and contract terms will vary depending on the provider. Overall, though, it appears that First Data will enforce the terms of a lease even when a merchant claims to have been deceived by an agent. See the First Data Independent Sales Program Guide.

Complaints & Service

Key Points - Complaints & Service

Total Online Complaints

500+

Live Customer Support

Yes

Most Common Complaint

Undisclosed Terms

There are hundreds of negative First Data Global Leasing reviews on this website and other consumer protection websites, and many of these reviews outright accuse the company of being a ripoff or a scam. Common complaints include nondisclosure of lease terms by sales agents, expensive monthly fees for equipment rental, staggeringly high cancellation fees, and unresponsive customer support. First Data itself does not publicly respond to complaints, but merchants report that the company typically does not release its lessees from their agreements even when the terms were misrepresented by sales agents. FDGL has its own customer support number, but merchants may need to contact several entities including their merchant account provider and First Data Merchant Services in order to resolve some lease-related issues.

BBB

Key Points - BBB

Note: We have adjusted this company’s BBB rating according to our own standards. To better understand why we adjust BBB ratings, please see our Rating Criteria.

The Better Business Bureau does not currently maintain a profile for First Data Global Leasing, but it does award First Data an overall rating of “A+” based on 1,046 complaints filed in the past three years. Of these complaints, 528 are related to the product or service, 258 are related to billing and collection, 229 are due to advertising and sales issues, and the remaining 31 were the product of warranty or delivery problems. Not all of these complaints are directly related to equipment leases through First Data, but many of them are, so the results are still relevant to FDGL. We have therefore adjusted the BBB’s rating to a “C.”

Response from First Data Global Leasing

First Data Global Leasing Bottom Line

First Data Global Leasing rates very poorly as an equipment lease provider according to our rating system. The company is showing a large number of complaints and does not appear to offer favorable contract terms to merchants. Merchants are advised to purchase equipment outright whenever possible and to ensure that they are not locked into long-term leases through FDGL or any other leasing provider.

About Phillip Parker

Hi, I’m Phillip and I’m disgusted by the state of credit card processing in the U.S. and abroad. I believe that the industry has been overrun by people who engage in fraud and deception in order to steal money from hard working business owners. I’ve made it my mission to expose the companies and individuals who engage in predatory marketing, pricing, and contracts, or just provide terrible service. Along with uncovering the bad guys, I’ve also discovered the good guys who do stand out from the status quo. CPO is a website where you will find ratings and reviews of these companies along with advice on how to save money and which service providers consider. Together we can move the industry in a positive direction. If you would like to help support my work, please checkout “Fee Sweep” my eGuide to getting the lowest possible fees when accepting card payments. If you haven’t heard of “interchange” this advice will save you hundreds, even thousands, in processing fees.

Phillip’s Merchant Account Rate and Fee Savings Guide

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This company is the biggest ripoff ever .. you pay for a machine that others give for free ..and it is on an auto renew they try to force you to keep the contract .. Do not sign contract with this company .. It is the worst deal in life I have ever done … I have paid almost 100 dollars a month for 4 years of service that i did not use .. stay away .. run away excessive charges …

Similar thing here in the UK. Agreed to a contract with FDGL but my original supplier had renewed my contract automatically so i was stuck with them for another year. Contacted FDGL and explained that i wouldnt be needing the terminal and wished to cancel but as i was outside the 7 days grace period, i was stuck with it unless i bought out of the contract. As we couldnt afford to buy out, i had to pay the standing charge each month until i could afford the buy out payment.. They accepted the buy out and we returned the machine and were sent a letter from First Data Merchant Solutions stating that the contract was now closed. We now find that First Data Global Leasing have been taking £25 per month from our account since July 2015 for ‘lease payment’. (accountant thought it was payment for present machine so never mentioned it). Contacted them and they said we never cancelled ‘this’ contract when we cancelled the ‘other ‘ contract. Then said we can buy out of ‘this’ contract for £100 if we want? How can you have 2 contracts for one machine? I want my 19months x £25 back for a start you robbing [email protected]

I signed a contract wit United merchant services and only have one major account that uses credit cards. I use virtual,Computer to charge all of their charges, However , I received a terminal which I have not even unpacked and am being charged a monthly fee of $78.00 + insurance fee $4.75 And a yearly tax handling fee of $ 30.00. I have offered to return the terminal unused and explained that I have absolutly no use for it now or in the future. They sent me a letter that to return it I must pay $ 3,250.44 to fullfill the contract .A contract that I was tricked by a very nice sales rep into signing.This cost for a useless terminal is an compete loss to my company and I feel that the law should help correct this kind of fraud going on.Next step will be to contact the Georgia state attorney and the consumer fraud bureau but that really should not be necessary. I would hope an attorney will pick this up for a class action suite as it seems by this web site there are a lot of businesses that are being taken for a cheaters ride.

Can anyone tell me if First Data actually takes people to court? I have not one but 2 binding contracts with them as they fraudulently locked me in on lies. The 2nd over the chip in the card technology. Anyway I’m thinking about just closing my bank account so they can no longer access my accounts. I can deal with the collection agents and the hit to my credit rating (oddly enough we pay all our credit balances off each month) but their fine print says all court settlements have to be done in Chicago. I live in Iowa. I can’t afford to be drawn out in court on this crap. Suggestions? ([email protected])

I was also a rewed by my FDGL rep, who was working with BofA with their Clover pos system. The FD and BA fees over the term of the lease would cost me approx $7,000! By the way, you can now outright buy the Clover system for $800. I closed my business and stopped paying the monthly lease. They sent me to a collection agency BUT when I signed the lease I put a fake SS# on the form. As such they could not verify me with the credit bureas and it never went on my credit report. That was 3 years ago – they never sued me and the statute of limitation just expired.

Very deceptive company. Signed 3 page contract was sent a 50 page contract with my signature tagged on the bottom. Currently been conned and am paying on 2 equipment leases, both are locked in. Settlement in court is out of state for me. Forced to finish contract or risk legal action. Wondered if I just shut off payment if I’d be dragged into court. Fraudulent at every level.

Talk about a rip off after $2400.00 in payments buy out is $293.85. Will not work with anyone. Could not find terminal so was told to file a claim with insurance company then they would sent me one that I could return for the I could not find. I would not recommend this company to anyone.

Same comments as all the rest. Our lease is up, we want to send the equipment back. They “can’t find us in their system” yet they continue to take $75.55 a month out of our checking account. I suggest not wasting your time arguing with them and go straight to your state Attorney General. That is where we are headed.

I was also suckered into signing an agreeement with these shiesters! They told me I would get next day deposits (they lied), better rates (they lied), cancel with a $350 penalty (lied). I am so angry I could scream! They want to charge me over $7,000 to cancel their services!

They are AWEFUL!!!! Do not ever is them. Had them since 2012 for my small business, lease is up and I want to cancel because they didn’t keep up their end of the contract up by providing a credit card machine that works and is up to date. Called them and told them I want to send machine back since lease time is up and they want me to pay to send it back so of course I’m not agreeing to that, hang up and call again. 2nd time I’m told that they’re not the ones responsible for this (even though they’re the ones taking money out of my account every month) so I hang up and call processing company back same day, they told me FDGL is definitely responsible for that. Called back 3rd time and I’m on hold for 30 mins for them to tell me they can’t find me anywhere in the system. ?????

I too was suckered in with the bs sales pitch from a third party company (base solutions) which I found out after the fact when it fell apart. I was contacted about a 2 month “promotional deal” the slogan “let first data earn your business”. It was supposed to be a no obligation, cancel at any time without penalty trial to see if FD was a “good fit for your business”. With nothing to lose, I thought why not – by this time I had had numerous conversations with the same sales person, and had made it very clear that I absolutely did NOT want to be locked into a contract. To which he replied “that’s not a problem, FD don’t like to keep people in contracts that don’t want to be”, and kept reassuring me this was a trial….. BS BS BS!!! I had nothing but problems from the start – always calling tech support because of faulty equipment that had to be replaced after 3 weeks, their constant errors on our banking details – leading to $$$$ not being deposited into our account and being held in collections on their end for weeks, not getting the processing rate I was told…and the list goes on and on. Needless to say, after 2 months FD did not earn my business, so when I call to cancel is when I find out the “no early termination fee” is just for the merchant services department, and I have been locked into a 60 month lease as that is a separate entity of the company! Of course none of this was disclosed by the slimy salesman, and absolutely everything out of his mouth was complete and utter lies. After LOTS of emails and hours on the phone – being passed between different departments of FD and base solutions, they finally agreed to buy out my contract, since the slime-ball salesman agreed to “give up his commission on the deal”. After reading so many reviews (I wish I had of done that before signing up) I realize I am one of the lucky ones to dissolve the binding contract without having to pay it out, and to be rid of FD and Base Solutions. Seriously, one of the worst experiences ever! Any business owner knows you don’t need the added stress of bs like this! AVOID FIRST DATA AND BASE SOLUTIONS LIKE THE PLAGUE!!! * I really want to out the sales person so no one else falls for his lies, but I probably can’t do that….

First Data Global Leasing is a crooked company with shady business practices. I first encountered this company through a sales rep that came to my place of business. He offered me a no contract deal that allowed me to use their credit card terminal equipment for $19.95 fee a month, plus we agreed on a low percentage deal per transaction made with credit cards. He assured me that the services rendered through first data were so top notch, that I would never leave them. He also assured me that if I was unhappy with their service, all I would have to do was call and cancel and they would take care of picking up the equipment. so when the monthly charges started filling in, I noticed that I was being charged $99.99 plus $56.85 for some other bogus charge. After my extreme displeasure I contacted that same rep, he picked up the phone and acknowledged whom I was, but once I described my displeasure he told me he would contact me later because he was busy with a customer at that moment. He never called me back and he became very evasive and hard to contact, my calls continued to go to voicemail. I aimlessly called numerous times for multiple weeks and I kept getting his voice mail that said he was out of the country that week. Then I tried contacting first data and their customer service agent received me with an extremely rude attitude. I informed her that I wanted reimbursement, because I felt tat I was deceived in to using their product, she then proceeded to say that she would work on helping me resolve my problem, but nothing ever came of it. I never received a credit and I was informed that it was not their lease that I was under, even though they are the ones sending me the bill. AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!

This is a very very bad company no one should use them they are thieves the terminal they gave me was dated and still took money from my bank account. The worst company in the USA no one should allow them to take advantage .

Run from this company. I have made 31 payments on the 48 month lease and returned the equipment, 18 months ago. They were not willing to settle except they would have taken a few dollars off but it would show as a charge off my credit. Crooks…run… do not do business with this company.

Stay away! Dangerous. They rented me a credit card machine without my consent. They still charge monthly payments though I do not use it. They would not cancel contract until lease expires! I send them certified payments otherwise they make disappear the money order. They should be in jail, not in the market place. TOTAL SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Zero stars!!

well..this fast talking sales rep sold me good….filled out all the info and forwarded it to them…he got me set up and sent the equipment….tech was not able to make the equipment work with our system,they even insulted my bartender when she couldnt make it work….so they sent another machine….i called tech 3 times and left messages to get the machine up and running…they never returned any phone calls…i then got my first statement..at the bottom it read”your september 2016 statement,service fee will be increased to 17.00 per month.your monthly report fee will be increased to 12.00 per month.the help desk fee will be increased to17.00 per month.effective with your september 2016 statement a new annual processing fee in the amount of 197.00 will be assessed to your account.it will be billed annually thereafter.continuing your merchant account with us or use of your merchant account after 30 days will represent your acceptance to these terms.termination of your account for these reasons will be accepted without penalty if you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact our merchant support team at 866 717 5499….my signed contract stated no annual fee…no monthly statement fee…no help desk fee..no monthly service fee….i called them on day 30 and left a message to cancel the contract since they dont answer the phone….then i changed my checking account and canceled the current one….they arent happy with me…better business bureau first and the the state at attourney generals office next…and possible the FTC….good luck to everyone.

I bought a food truck from a person who was running a Thai food business and they told me how great the cc machine they had was through Wells Fargo. The WF rep Rachel got me to sign a lease transfer and told me all fees were being paid by the previous people. She also stated that the only fees I would pay would be the processing fees for transactions that were charged. Ended up being 50 a month for the equipment and over 80 dollars in processing fees per month. My food truck went under and when I tried to cancel I got the run around that I could not return equipment. Horrible customer service and huge cancellation fees. Only option was to close my account and return the equipment. Now I’m being charged over 2000 for early termination. My advice to you is stay away from them and find another company, they will do nothing but rip you off.

These are the worst people to deal with. You are told that the equipment is yours after the term of your lease but then they keep charging you for the lease because now they want the equipment back. On top of that, you have to pay the shipping and they break the agreement by updating you on where the equipment is to be shipped to. WARNING: NEVER DEAL WITH THESE PEOPLE OR FIRST DATA MERCHANT SERVICES, THEY WILL BOTH RIP YOU OFF.

First Datsa are the biggest liars and scam company I have ever done business with. Unfortunately, I’m in a contract with them for some time. I wish legally there was something they could do to these low lifes.

Do not sign a lease with First Data. I leased 4 of their POS systems for my nightclub, and signed as the President of the Corporation. I never received a copy of the lease ‘application’ and have continued to request one from First Data. I later sold the corporation to another person and I completed the lease transfer document they provided to transfer the lease to the new corporate owner. That owner went out of business about a year later and now First Data is going after me for the lease. When I asked about the lease transfer agreement I signed, they stated that they didn’t remove me from the lease, they just added the new owner, and never removed by name from the lease, and that were are now both responsible for the lease. They will not provide me copies of anything that I have requested. They have reported me as delinquent to the credit agencies. First Data is a scam and their flippant attitude towards complaint resolution is horrendous at best! Just say no to First Data!!

Hi People, I am one of victim of First Data Global Leasing. When you get kind of clover systems with them, it means you dug your own grave. They will sell the system very easy and you will not feel something behind you. stay away from any kind of PNC organization.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I leased a credit card machine through First Data Global Leasing. After high payments each month I decided several years later to close my BofA account along with the credit card account. I didn’t remember how long the lease was for and months later received a collections account on my credit. My address was changed when I closed out the account and my mail was forwarded. I never heard ONE WORD from First Data about any money I owed. They had my phone numberight and they knew the name of my business which is ALL over the Internet. One Google search and they could’ve reached me and I would’ve paid what I owed. RUN FROM FIRST DATA GLOBAL LEASING, they are shady and dishonest and if you ever need to reach them, they give you the run around and you will hold on the line for at least 30 minutes. I still am unable to speak with one of their representatives after all the problems I’ve had. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE.

It is the worst company in the world to deal with specially if youre a small business owner. When you are signing the paperwork, the representative doesn’t explain anything and also the main thing that you are signing contract with 2 different companies. One for processing and one for equipment leasing. They do it so that when you cancel your contract they can hit you with 2 termination fees. They deserve a special place in HELL for sucking the hard earned money of us small business owner.

I have just terminated my contract with them. OK service but very high charges. My complaint is with the return of the machine, I had a letter asking for it to be returned within 15 days of the dated letter, however I received the letter after the date so therefore they charged me £424.72 for a late return.

My son-in-law was conned into signing up with First Data in August 2010. Our small business leased the single credit card terminal from FDGL. The original 48 month agreement was up in August 2014 but because of the heartburn associated with credit card processing companies, we didn’t change until January 2016. We are under no contractual obligation at this point. But it all but took an Executive Order by the President of the US to terminate the merchant account. We had to submit FOUR termination notices and still we ran into resistance. The single terminal we had may have had a retail value of $100 in 2010. We dutifully paid the lease amount every month for 65 months, which meant we paid FDGL nearly $2500 for a terminal that may have had a retail value in 2010 of $100. We thought we had finally gotten out from under this extortion until FDGL continued to debit our checking account AFTER the termination of the merchant account. Attempts to contact FDGL resulted in sitting on hold for over 40 minutes and then we were told that unless we return the obsolete terminal (for which we have already paid the retail value 25 times over), FDGL will continue to debit our account. We are EAGER to return the obsolete terminal, but were told we MUST wait until we receive the letter from FDGL which will take at least 5 business days (assuming we ever receive this letter). Information on where to return the terminal would not be provided over the phone nor by email. And until we receive this illusive letter and return the obsolete terminal, FDGL will continue to debit our account! How can they get away with this?

I have dealt with this horrible company and ran into the same problem. I returned the terminal and they of course continued to bill my account and would of continued to do so if I would not have caught it. These people are crooks and there has to be something that be done about their open theft. Worst part is that they don’t care and act like they are doing you some favor by returning your money after they keep you on hold for an hour.

A very persistent salesperson kept calling to get my business use this company’s equipment. I switched to them in a hurry because I was very busy at the time, and was fed-up with the merchant services dept at my previous provider (Wells Fargo Bank) because they kept jacking up the fees. Anyway, at the very start, I was totally dissatisfied with the service and without initiating a single transaction, wanted to cancel out. Contacting the sales rep was almost next to impossible. Finally I got through and expressed my dissatisfaction, only to be rebuffed that if I wanted to cancel I needed to return the equipment. I did and afterwards, when they kept billing my bank account for the monthly charge, I again after spending about 2 hours I managed to get in touch with their collection department. They explained that if I wanted to cancel, I needed to pay something like 3900 dollar. This is a scam and a highway robbery. STAY AWAY..

Greetings, My business partner signed up with FDGL over 7 years ago. Our lease expired in 2012. We have still been charged. We have returned the equipment but of course they do not show that in their records. When I call, one side of the house tells me that we were leasing the equipment, the other side of the house tells me that we purchased our equipment. Very deceitful practice this company has. I’m very surprise that Suntrust Bank is the one that set it up for my partner and works with them. Please do not do business with FDGL and Elavon is not much better.

First Data is still trying to collect from me personally. I volunteered at the company that contracted them and the representative at The Merchant Company had me sign the contract. First Data has finally sent me a copy of the contract after a year and a half. The contract has false information on it that was filled in after I signed it…. It states that I am a member which I am not and never have been. There is also written information that the rep agreed to that was never fulfilled and that also shows he knew the company was going to have a new computer system installed. Once that happened their system would not be and never was compatible with our POS. I want my personal SSN removed form this contract!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Was promised a 48 month contract with the cancellation fee of $495.00. When the final contract was received it was changed to a 60 month contract. Would not even speak with me about this problem. Wanted to cancel the contract after the 48 month period. Said if I paid the $495.00 the contract would be cancelled. This has not happened. You keep taking out the $37.10 each month. Send me back my $495.00 NOW!!! I am reporting you to the Better Business. We have gone out of business and our checking account will be closed by the end of October 2015. tried calling many times, no one will speak with me.

I have tried to get a copy of my contract with First Data for a year and a half. I still do not have one. The representative that “sold” me on the idea came in and said we would be saving over a $1000 a year if we switched processing companies. He stated we would be able to use his system and equipment with our current POS software and that he would be sending me the equipment. I talked to the owners of the company and they agreed they wanted to save money. I talked with the Representative and he said I could sign the papers (I was only a volunteer at this time, I did not work for the company at the time) but he would need my personal SSN, I said I was unconfortable with that . He assured me that I would not have any responsiblility it was just for reference. This was a lie. I asked about canceling and he said they might try to charge a $250 fee but he would take care of it if they did. We signed the papers and he left. He never left me a copy of the contract. After a month all of the sudden we have a charge on our bank account for a lease that we did not know we had. When I called to cancel payment on the lease I was not authorized to, so we ended up paying on this lease for 15 months until the owner of our company finally got the stop payment through. Then all of the sudden we could return the equipment, which I did in May 2015. Now they are telling me that I have to pay the lease for the next 4 years and that it is my responsibilty personally. I want this contract canceled and my personal SSN removed from their data. Now, remember I was never able to use the equipment or the processor with our system. I even had the tech out twice to get it to work. We tried to work with them but were unable to.

First data leasing, first data merchant service, they are worst POS service you can choose in the market! They always try to fool you in the beginning with a very rough estimation and blaff you with their big company cant cheat you stuff and when you are on board and find out all they told you are lies, you can hardly reach any Representative! In my case, I have signed with a sales manager called Vanessa Hua , she’s full of lies and i’m new to the business and after i signed a bad deal, she vanished from the air. takes more than 10 calll to reach her and always excuses and never try to help.

I paid the cancelation fee( which is a lot) and get away with this company!

With my experience, there’s only one advice: never get in touch with them!

I iwll add to the bad reviews of First Data and their dishonest and exorbitant leasing practices. I was never told by this pushy salesman that I would be leasing equipment at over $200.month on a “Non-Cancellable” 4 year lease. I have cancelled my agreement contract with Securus, that was to be my new credit card processor for “Breach of Contract” . They were to pay me $495 for switching to them,and also pay my company $100 for putting in the LAN computer line. $595 total, in writing, but to date, I have not received any money or electronic deposit. I once got a call about where to send my check, but no check was ever sent. Several months later, I called them again, and they said to send in my bank statements showing I was, indeed, paying this over $200/month lease payment to this FDGL Lease (Part of First Data). I did, but still never received a dime. I have since closed the account FDGL (First Data) was debiting, but they now have figured out another account I have, and have started debiting that account. I need to actually move to another bank it seems, in order to have them stop taking this money for their defective, and inferior equipment. the machine would go down, usually on a very buys day, and we would have to unplug it and reboot this thing several times a day. A reboot usually took at least 5 minutes, with a line up of customers, this was very inconvenient. The plugs on this machine are difficult to get at as well, making these rebootings even more of a pain! Strong arm sales tactics and inferior equipment, and they want me to cary out the term of this lease to the tune of around $10,000 over 4 years. These people should be shut down and put out of business, in my opinion. I have learned my lesson I hope. When these credit card salepeople come in with their talk of how much they will save me on fees to switch to them, DO NOT SIGN and get a legal scan of all these documents. They nver mentioned this, and the salesperson, in subsequent texts kept saying he would get “Corporate” to reverse all these fees. Beware of a company call Securus, that uses First Data. They are crooks.

First Data Global Leasing tricked me into a non-cancellable lease. I was told by their sales rep that if i was unsatisfied, I could cancel the lease within the first 30 days, no questions asked. I used the equipment for 2 weeks & decided it wasn’t for me. I called them to let them know I wanted to cancel & they sent me a return shipping label & I sent all of the equipment back. Three months later, I noticed that they have been taking $100 out of my account each month, PLUS they took $1600 out of my account for the 2 weeks that I had used the machine. (it should have only been around $300). I called them back & now they are telling me that it was a non-cancellable lease & I would have to pay $3,000 to get out of it!!!!!! AND they are telling me that they didn’t even receive the equipment. I have the tracking number from FedEx which shows that they signed for it!!!! Now they are threatening to ruin my credit if I don’t pay!

Hi Amanda, I read your article about First Data. I also decided to cancel them. The first thing I did was cancel the merchant account that was linked to my business checking account. Then, I transferred all of my money from my business account to my personal account so that First Data could no longer take any money out of my account. I’m told that if they can’t take money out of my business account they will send it to collections. But that doesn’t bother me cause I’m filling for bankruptcy and will include them in the filing. I too, was tricked by First Data. First off, I never received the so called “rebate” I was promised, and I had no idea of a cancellation fee. I was told I could try it and cancel anytime. No mention of a cancellation fee. Anyway, I read that First Date sent you a mailing label. How did you get a mailing label? First Data would not give me a mailing label to return the terminal. They told me I would have to paying shipping cost to return it.

Provider of the Month

Why Fattmerchant: This provider has one of the most competitive pricing plans of any merchant account provider in the card processing industry. Fattmerchant also offers a month-to-month service agreement, no cancellation fees, no hidden fees, and processing options for virtually any business need. Add to all of this easy-to-use technology and top-rated customer support, and you can’t go wrong with this choice.

Exposing The Truth

Hi, I’m Phillip and I’m disgusted by the state of credit card processing industry. I believe that it has been overrun by people who engage in fraud and deception in order to steal from hard working business owners. I’ve made it my mission to expose the companies and individuals who engage in predatory marketing, pricing, and contracts. You shouldn’t have to worry about paying inflated fees or getting trapped in expensive contracts when you are simply trying to take payments from your customers.

Phillip Parker Founder & Critic

P.S. If you would like to help support my work, please checkout “Fee Sweep” my eGuide to getting the lowest possible fees when accepting card payments. If you haven’t heard of “interchange” this advice will save you hundreds, even thousands, in fees.